The Fifteenth Amendment - Essay Example

The Fifteenth Amendment The Fifteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution is centered on the ability for every citizen of the United States to vote regardless of their gender, nationality, race, or religion. When this amendment was first executed in 1870, every government in the United States was prohibited from denying an individual the right to vote based on race, skin color, and previous status of slavery…

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Before the Fifteenth Amendment was added to the United States Constitution, inequality ran rampant throughout America. Not only were African Americans treated unfairly and denied the same rights as white people, but the majority of them were also kept as slaves. Though African Americans were being oppressed, there were politicians, civilians, and even some slave owners that were against the unethical treatment of African Americans that came about simply due to the color of their skin. To people who supported slavery, they believed that unless you were white, you were considered less than a human being and, therefore, were not entitled to the rights of American citizens. This helped to prompt the American Civil War in 1861. While there were many factors that incited the American Civil War, such as economic and social differences between the North and the South and states versus federal rights, the war was primarily “instigated by the continuous debates over the rights and freedoms of African Americans and slaves” (Richards 58). After the Louisiana Purchase and America began to expand, there was controversy as to whether or not the new states should allow slavery. Many of the southern states that approved of slavery forced their beliefs on these new states, arguing that since the other states allowed slavery, the new states should be made to follow the same laws. Furthermore, the more that the southern states pushed for legalized slavery, the more that the northern states opposed slavery not just in the new states, but in all states. The final straw was when Abraham Lincoln, “a man who was an outspoken proponent for abolishing slavery” (Fletcher 104), was elected as President of the United States in 1860. Toward the end of the American Civil War, the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution was passed. This amendment, approved of in 1864, completely abolished slavery. This may have seemed like a good start in fully liberating African Americans and those trapped in the yokes of slavery, but it posed new problems in the world of politics. It became the belief that if the African Americans and former slaves were not treated like proper citizens of America than they would rebel against their former owners and those that aided in and encouraged their oppression (Keyssar 118) . To prevent this from occurring, the Fourteenth Amendment was passed in 1868, which provided United States citizenship for African Americans and those slaves that had been freed. These aforementioned amendments, also known as the Reconstruction Amendments, were nothing less than peace offerings to the African American population. However, the Republicans realized that they could be even more appealing to the African Americans and former slaves if they offered them to opportunity to vote. As such, the Fifteenth Amendment, which would provide people who were not white the opportunity to vote, was proposed. The road to approving this amendment was not an easy one, but the men who were in charge, the Radical Republicans who believed fully in the freedom and rights of all men, were not easily swayed by the opposition. Fortunately, they had more in favor for the Fifteenth Amendment than those who were against it. Aside from the Radical Repub
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Union Success in the Civil War and the adoption of the Thirteenth Amendment made slavery illegal in United States. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments were enacted to complete this process by officially extending citizenship and voting rights to all African Americans regardless of previous conditions of servitude.

The Constitution, penned over a span of many years and approved of on September 17, 1787, consists of numerous articles, clauses, and amendments that help to define the relationship that exists between the government, the states, and every citizen of the United States.

The Supreme Court of the United States is the ultimate arbiter of constitutional issues and the history of voter’s rights is a long and contentious one. The Court changes its position slowly and sometimes only due to the prompting of Congressional amendments to the constitution and legislation, such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

On the other hand, the Fifteenth Amendment granted African American men the right to cast their vote. In spite of having acknowledged equal rights with respect to the United States Constitution, a lot more white people persisted to show prejudice against African Americans across the United States (McDowell 20-40).

A few thing are more treasured by Americans than their rights and freedoms, their culture and constitution promotes and requires that all persons are considered equal before the law notwithstanding their racial, religious or any other different orientation.

Jose Padilla an American citizen born in Brooklyn New York, arrested in connection with the September 11th attack, and accused of collaboration with Al Qaeda and Taliban militias. upon His arrest, they confined Padilla for more than three years without trial on any criminal or civil charges.

The second part usually concerns the proper issue of warrants whereby it states that there should be a probable cause in case a warrant has been issued. The totality of circumstances tests the probable cause.
A police officer cannot be said to be conducting a search where he/she looks through the window when walking along the street.

on the socio-political front, the civil rights of the black people got established yet excluding many political and social rights (Henretta and Brody, 440-453). The thirteenth amendment of 1865 to the Constitution abolished slavery which was tried to be circumvented by many

the Voting Rights Act (VRA) of 1965 in respect of the Fifteenth Amendment: Section 5 of VRA, which obligates select states and local authorities to acquire federal approval before enforcing any amendment to their polling regulations or practices; and Section 4(b), which provides

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